


Loose Ends

by PastelPlushie64



Series: Dream Traveller's Tales [1]
Category: Klonoa (Games)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, I would die for these characters XD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 07:19:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18441728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelPlushie64/pseuds/PastelPlushie64
Summary: They had been through so much; both while together and apart from each other. The Dream Traveller left his only home, and closest friend; unsure of what lay beyond him. But with time he accepted what had happened. If they could ever meet again, he would want them to really get to know one another, despite all that happened between them.And he was eventually given that chance. So now he wondered...If he could return to Phantomile, could he somehow go back to other dream worlds?





	1. Fateful Return

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/165169491@N05/32650881777/in/dateposted-public/)

\-------------------------------------------------------------------  
Something feels… familiar.

As if I’ve been here before; like I wanted to come back to this place…

…wherever this place may be.

I feel happy, but I’m not quite sure why.

Something tells me that I’ll find out soon though…

…that what’s about to happen will be a good thing…  
\------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The clouds moved slowly with the breeze, as the sea waves rose and fell, crashing softly against the rocky edge of the surrounding islands.

The blue hue of the sky contrasted with the usual weather that occupied the Sea of Tears, which is why a group of five friends had planned to spend some time together that day.

They chose to have a picnic within a small cavern, which had a large opening with a view of the sea. It had become quite a popular area once the kingdoms had set aside their differences, and the group felt it was a great place to reunite.

This group of friends didn’t get to see each other often, but they had gone through so much once the Dream Traveller had arrived to their world. They didn’t know each other before the Dream Traveller arrived, but he inadvertently gave these individuals a chance to get to know each other.

Even with him being gone for a long time, these friends still remember him fondly, and know that there could always be a chance to see him again.

Among the sounds of waves, the banter and laughs from this group of friends could not be unheard.

A young Lalakooshen priestess was reprimanding her Joilanten friend like an older sibling, which had a cat-like entity giggling in glee as her Lalakooshen companion looked on in amusement.

“You should know better Popka!” The priestess chastised, as the dog-like Lunatean retorted.

“Aw, you’re overreacting you know! Besides, she started it!” He pointed his claw at the cat, who held a shocked look of innocence when replying.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about-nya!” 

Popka began to growl in frustration, and before it escalated any more, the redheaded girl spoke up “Okay, okay, no need to point claws at one another! By Claire, you’re as bad as ever Tat...”

The cat loudly gasped, and dramatically turned her back. “And I thought you, Leorina the Sky Pirate, were my closest friend-nya!” She then floated over to the fifth member of the group.  
“At least Sorrow believes I’m innocent, right-nya?”

The rabbit-like boy looked over to the cat, subtle amusement only evident in his eyes.

“…I abstain from comment.”

This response had Popka laughing hysterically and the Lalakooshen girls holding back their laughs as Tat sighed heavily. 

“Aw pooh-nya…” Sorrow gave a hint of a smile as the others continued on with their antics.

It was then that a particularly strong breeze passed through the cavern, which made the auburn-haired priestess shiver as the chill hit her back.

She turned her head out towards the sea, ready to admire the beautiful weather they had; but that thought quickly left her mind as she noticed objects within the water. With a squint, she could make out black and white fur and a shiny ring-

She froze for a moment and blinked… but the figure was still there.

In an instant, she jumped up from the blanket in shock.

“K-Klonoa?!”

The group looked at the priestess surprised, and suddenly scrambled up themselves.

“Yer’ kidding, it’s actually him?!”

“It looks like it.”

“He’s really here-nya!”

“…”

The priestess ran down the stone steps that led to the exit of the cavern, with Popka and Leorina following her soon after as Tat flew out through the cavern opening. Everyone’s thoughts were a blur; no one could truly believe this was happening.

It almost felt like a dream…

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

He felt cold. He was wet and the breeze wasn’t helping.

He then felt the rocky texture beneath him and mewled in discomfort, before attempting to get up. The cabbit boy could make out faint voices as he attempted to open his eyes, rubbing them to get the water away.

The voices suddenly stopped, and the boy felt multiple pairs of eyes on him as he finally opened his own.

“M-manya?”

It took his mind a few moments to understand the gravity of where he was, as familiar faces huddled around him in concern and surprise. The Dream Traveller looked to his side to find the young priestess, and noticing the green feather on her hat gently blowing in the wind, he smiled.

“Lolo…” He then looked around at the rest of the group; recognising each face before looking down to his own hands. “…I’m… actually back.” He looked up in relief, tears pricking the edges of his eyes. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you guys again…”

In that moment, Lolo dove in to hug the young cabbit; crying out to him. “Klonoa! You’re here, you came back!” Caught off guard for a moment, he sighed contentedly and hugged the Lunatean priestess in earnest. Popka was the next one to welcome him back.

“Ya’ just had ta’ appear in the Sea of Tears again, didn’t ya’?” Klonoa let out a bashful chuckle; strands of hair bobbing up and down with the sound, as the Joilanten’s annoyed expression changed to one of amusement.

“C’mon you Dummy, you’re gonna choke him with that hug.” He spoke as he indicated for Lolo to loosen her grip. After a few moments, she finally let go and the cabbit went to stand up.

“I see you couldn’t stay away from us for too long-nya!” He looked up to find Tat flying around him with a playful tone in her voice. Her comment made him ponder though.

“How long have I been gone?”

This question roused the Sky Pirate to respond with a warm smile.

“It’s almost been a year now since the Coming of Sorrow; a lot has changed since then.” He turned to her with curious eyes and a wide smile.

“That is a long time… how are you all doing then? What’s happened since I left?”

As he had begun to speak, someone had walked up to his iconic hat, still sitting wet on the ground. They gently picked it up, and with the cabbit’s sensitive hearing, he quickly turned to the source of the sound.

Right there he found the King of Sorrow, looking as he had before Klonoa had to defeat him. He froze at the eye contact, but gave a remorseful smile as he handed over the hat.

“Welcome back… Klonoa.”

One look into his eyes and the Dream Traveller remembered all the feelings that he had felt before; the sorrow that he had denied, and the bittersweet feeling he now felt for the dream world of Phantomile.

With a warm smile in return, he took the hat, pushed back his hair strands, and put it on.

“Glad to be back…”

Before anything else could happen though, a faint glow started to come from the golden ring still lying on the ground. Klonoa looked to it with realisation, with the others watching in surprise as it lit up brightly… and from it appeared a small spirit-like entity.

The ethereal being shook himself a bit before opening his eyes, confusion being the only emotion showing on his face. With a shake of his head and a humoured sigh, the Dream Traveller made his way over to the ring and the being inside it.

As the orb-like spirit took in his surroundings, he looked to Klonoa with apprehension, but only got a confident smile in response as he hooked the ring onto his arm.

“I told you it was going to be ok, didn’t I?” He spoke up in a comforting tone, and the blue spirit nodded after a few moments. The cabbit took a hold of his hand, and after a small squeeze, he gently brought his oldest friend to meet the rest of the group.

“Everyone, this is Huepow: my closest friend from Phantomile, which is my home world.” As a feeling of unease began to build up in the young spirit, it was the King of Sorrow that had walked over to him and offered a smile.

“Welcome to Lunatea Huepow.” He spoke calmly, which caused the flux of emotions to settle down a little bit. It was then that the rest of the group followed suit.

“Welcome to our world, my name is Lolo! I see you can power the ring too?”

“Nice ta’ meet another friend of Klonoa’s! The name’s Popka!”

“Wow, you can float just like me-nya! My name’s Tat!”

“My name is Leorina. It’s good to meet you.”

The spirit looked over to Klonoa in slight shock, and he just nodded to Huepow in understanding. He finally gave a soft smile and responded “It’s nice to meet you all too, truly it is!”

With introductions out of the way, the group invited the newcomers to join them for their picnic, which they happily accepted.

Klonoa had gotten to the burgers before anyone could protest, and Huepow filled them in on the cabbit’s love of the food. Laughter and playful bickering ensued once again and everyone settled down into the new seating arrangement.

None of them realised that something was missing before the Dream Traveller returned, but now that he was back, it was obvious how much they had missed him. Stories of other worlds, questions of the kingdoms; they were just old friends catching up with each other.

Though their new friend was not forgotten either, no matter how shy he may have seemed. He spoke of his role in Phantomile, the memories him and the cabbit shared together, and the eventual moment they had reunited after a long time apart.

This day had turned out better than anyone would have ever imagined…

…It truly felt like a dream had come true…


	2. Unveiled Emotions

\-------------------------------------------------------------------  
This feels… unfamiliar.

This world is inviting, but I don’t deserve to be here…

…I don’t deserve to be beside him.

Despite it all though, it still makes me happy.

But I can’t accept the memories of our past…

…no matter how much I try for him.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The group had continued talking even as the sky began to warm with pinks and oranges, illumination soon coming from the flocks of Flolos coming out to play in the dark. It was there that, away from the rest of the group, Huepow aimlessly followed the dancing lights.

He had gotten away a while ago; claiming that he just needed a moment to himself. Now he wasn’t sure how long he was gone for, but he thought that it was better such caring people didn’t pay mind to him, as he floated further away from the warm glow of the caverns.

He floated in time with the Flolos’ movements, almost as if dancing along; lost in his own thoughts and feelings. The ocean waves were nothing but silent to the spirit as he closed his eyes.

The silence didn’t last for much longer however.

“You seem troubled.” Huepow jumped at the voice, and was surprised to find the King of Sorrow trailing behind him.

“Oh, u-um, how long have you b-been there, your Majesty?” Sorrow merely smiled at the question.

“You may call me Sorrow; you yourself are in a position of power after all, isn’t that right Prince Huepow?” The spirit faintly lit up in embarrassment, and stuttered in affirmation.

“In response to your question though, it hasn’t been long. But your emotions gave away your location, so it wasn’t a challenge to find you.” This information left Huepow confused.

“My emotions?” The king began to walk alongside the floating spirit as he explained.

“As the King of Sorrow, I have the ability to sense the emotions of others, and have empathy for those emotions to… an honestly disturbing degree.” He shook his head, deciding not to reminisce on those events again.

“It was this empathic ability that led me down a path of anger and hatred. I felt like I had no control over mine or others emotions.” He paused, and looked up to the curious eyes staring back at him.

“But this ability specifically allows me to help others, and that is what I wish to do for all of Lunatea… and if I may, I wish to help you too.”

Taking in his sincere words, Huepow stopped moving and wasn’t quite sure what to think.

“I… have my emotions been obvious?” He finally spoke, voice quiet and vulnerable amongst the darkening surroundings. Sorrow just nods as the glow of the Flolos lit up his face. This caused Huepow to look to the ground in shame.

“I am being a bother then.” It was a statement; no trace of doubt within his voice. Sorrow sighed, but when he began to move closer the spirit jumped away. He looked up to him in concern.

“I know that your emotions are delicate, but I only wish to talk.” Once again the King’s choice of words confused the young prince, so with curiosity bubbling within him, he slowly floated over to his position. Sorrow then invited the spirit to sit with him on the near rocks, which he hesitantly accepted.

After a few moments of silence between the two, Sorrow spoke up in a calm tone.

“Would you like to know what emotions I sense right now?” This question caught Huepow off guard, but with a glimmer of intrigue in his eyes, he nodded for the King to continue.

This made a fond smile appear on the King’s face.

“Well, right now I can tell that you’re happy to learn more about my powers. And it doesn’t just seem like a way to escape my questioning either; you truly love to gain knowledge. Would this be correct?”

The spirit blushed, but gave a nod in confirmation.

“I’m happy to be here. Lunatea feels like a whole new world for me to explore and learn about…”

A sinking feeling rose up in Sorrow’s chest, and his gaze fell to the small prince, wondering what thoughts he must be having to cause such strong emotions.

This left the silence to return, as thoughts swirled around in both of the royals’ minds.

“…Was it your choice to come here?”

The sinking feeling doubled in intensity, and the King wished he didn’t have to allow the spirit to go through those emotions just so he could find out what was going on.

“…No, I guess not. I didn’t bring it up first at least-”

“Was it Klonoa’s idea?”

“…”

His breath hitched in shock.

The King had never felt sorrow this tangible in just a single being before; such regret and fear…

…the kinds of emotions that swallowed his existence whole before he had to be reborn.

And that was the sorrow from almost all of Lunatea.

He looked towards the stone path they had travelled, and with a sigh, he swallowed down the confusion that came from behind a distant rock and focused on the poor state of the young prince.

“This kind of sorrow is familiar to me; you know?” Sorrow began softly, wishing to stabilise his own emotions, which were slowly trickling out of his control.

“I don’t know what you and Klonoa have gone through together, but these kinds of feelings will do nothing but harm to yourself if you leave them to fester. You’re not-”

He had struck a nerve apparently, as he almost groaned in pain at the electric shock of regret shooting through him. He could barely handle the outpouring of emotions, seeming endless and powerful like the cascades of a waterfall.

He did not want to fall into despair himself… if he wished to help this creature with his own problems…

“…I’ll give you a m-moment to calm down…” Fear had sparked as he spoke... He didn’t mean to scare him... It was just so much to handle… His thoughts were starting to blur…

Huepow had noticed his change in tone, and soon realised what must have been happening. He gasped in horror, but stopped short as he began to tell himself to calm down before allowing his emotions to run wild.

‘Breathe in and out, Huepow. Just breathe; it will help him feel better, hopefully… Just breathe…’

His breathing was slowing down, and as he continued the ministration, the suffocating weight was beginning to lift off the King’s shoulders.

As his thoughts were becoming clearer, he could once again sense the rising emotions of the mystery being behind the rock. He had a suspicion on who had followed him, but if it were true then it may be best for them to remain hidden.

He then lifted his head up when he felt a blossom of relief coming from the spirit.

“I-I’m sorry, I guess I’m j-just really used to these emotions…” The King knew how that felt; he had held onto hope even as Lunatea’s negativity slowly but surely consumed his soul. After being reborn however, he was quite sensitive to any form of emotions now, so he had to build up tolerance to them all over again.

“Don’t apologise my friend… Maybe it isn’t my place to pry.”

“N-no!” Huepow exclaimed, but then looked away in a mix of embarrassment and confusion.

“I… it’s not right for me to hold my feelings in, right? I only do that because… because I can’t get myself to talk to Klonoa about them…”

Surprise. And a bit of understanding mixed in; that’s what it felt like at least. The King’s suspicions on this mystery being were seeming more and more likely now. This could be the spirit’s chance to finally speak his mind, even if he doesn’t realise it…

“But you do want to talk about it, don’t you?” Sorrow prods, as the young prince nods in confirmation. Sorrow stayed silent, waiting for the spirit to collect his thoughts. Most of his emotions were calming down, but the guilt didn’t seem to lessen at all.

“I’m… not quite sure where to start honestly, heh… It doesn’t feel right talking about this when he’s trying to move past it.” He took a breath as his nerves started to pick up again.

“I… I did something that shouldn’t be forgiven, b-but he did anyway?”

Huepow sighed at he continued to stutter and search for the right words to say.

“He was the right being chosen to save Phantomile; I s-still believe that… He truly is a Dream Traveller, noble and brave to a fault. I… I just wish I didn’t go to the extreme to make sure it all worked out…”

He had seemingly found his stride, the words continuing to come out the way he had thought them so many times before.

“I didn’t know him yet, but that doesn’t change the fact that I was willing to mess with someone’s memories, even with hesitation! I had a duty to protect my kingdom and the land of Phantomile; I couldn’t risk anything going wrong! But…”

A shy smile formed on the prince’s face as a hint of admiration thudded in the King’s heart.

“…he was just so brave, and endearing… and I just wanted to be by his side to help him. He wasn’t some divine being sent to save the world, he is just like anyone else… Heh, I was almost starting to believe we were real friends…”

The warmth was soon replaced with a chilling apathy that shook the King to his core.

“…Despite it all though… he still wants to be friends. He believes that I was a genuine friend to him, but I find it so hard to believe myself when I created those fake memories of us being friends!”

The tears began to fall as the spirit continued to vent out his feelings; Sorrow watching on with a sickness washing over him.

“I want to be friends with him; I want to say that I care for him!

… But h-how can I? He can’t forgive me if I can’t forgive myself- THERE’S JUST NO WAY I CAN BRING MYSELF TO DISMISS HIS FEELINGS AGAIN!”

The sorrow overtook him, tears flowing freely as he wept. He wanted to stop so badly, but he felt a hand rest on his back; comforting, and understanding. What little composure he had left was gone, and he continued to hiccup and stutter.

Sorrow did his best to soothe the young prince, using some of his power to allow the emotions to flow more freely. He only ever used this power when the other party openly shared their emotions; he never wished to bring them out against the other’s will.

As this continued, he looked over to the rocks to see a face popping out from behind them. The head suddenly hid away, long ears flowing with the movement.

Nervous and unsure.

Bubbles of sympathy rose in the King’s stomach, telling him that the cabbit truly didn’t hold ill will towards the spirit, and only wanted to help.

To his surprise, the Dream Traveller’s face slowly appeared again, eyes focused intently on his dear friend still sobbing. The boy then looked to Sorrow, and the King only gave a small nod to allow the cabbit to come out of hiding.

Unease continued to rise as his eyes shifted in uncertainty, but a wave of determination rose above that fear as the sound of faint footsteps began.

This alerted Huepow instantly, and the pure terror that he showed when he saw Klonoa made the cabbit stop momentarily.

“I-it’s okay Huepow, honest, I… I just wanna talk… is that alright with you?”

The spirit looked around desperately, but realised that he should have expected this moment to come. After all that has happened, no matter how willing the Dream Traveller was, he just couldn’t accept their friendship in fear of doing wrong by him.

“… I don’t deserve to be your friend…”

Sorrow felt helplessness in the pit of his stomach coming from the cabbit, but it was also evident in his wide-eyed expression, as he was at a loss for words. There was a reason this conversation hadn’t happened yet, the King thought. So he decided to speak up.

“If you two are not opposed to the idea, I’d like to help with- “

“It doesn’t even matter; I shouldn’t be here in the first place.” Shock and regret instantly formed on the prince’s face as he turned away in shame.

The King wasn’t sure what to say.

This wasn’t his burden to bear, but he wished to help out, since that’s what the Dream Traveller did for him-

He looked over to Klonoa, whose determination was wavering as the silence deafened the area. He walked towards him, and in a whisper told him.

“I’ll leave you two alone for a bit, I won’t be far if you need me.”

With a comforting pat on his shoulder and a small smile, the King continued up the stone path, with the remaining boys watching stunned as he disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Klonoa then looked back to Huepow, who still had tears running down his face, but they seemed emotionless as he quickly averted his eyes from the cabbit.

He wasn’t going to ignore this anymore.

He wanted him to understand why he’s been doing all of this.

“…Um, can I sit with you?” Klonoa asked hesitantly.

There was silence for a few moments; agonizingly slow moments for the cabbit as he waited for any sort of response. Anything at all.

It was then he barely saw the orb nod his head, eyes still looking away. His eyes lit up in hope as he made his way over to the washed out rocks.

“…You heard all of it, didn’t you?” Huepow asked hesitantly.

“…Yeah…”

The prince sighed, turning himself so part of his face could be seen. He looked to the ground with a flurry of conflicting emotions starting and stopping his train of thought.

“…Why?”

Klonoa looked to him in confusion.

“Just… why do you care about me? I c-can understand if you’ve accepted what happened, but why try to rekindle something that was never true to begin with?!”

“…So you never wanted us to be friends?”

That question felt like a gut punch to Huepow’s already breaking heart.

“Of course I want us t-to be friends! But that can’t happen, because I was horrible to you and you deserve better!” He gestures up to the warmly lit cavern, the silhouettes of the Dream Traveller’s Lunatean friends still talking amongst themselves.

“What do you even see in me anyway…?”

Thoughts. Memories. Good times and bad: they were all playing in Klonoa’s mind as he scrambled for the right answer.

“I… I guess I can’t just say one thing, y’know? It’s like a mixture of a few things.”

The spirit stayed silent, allowing the cabbit to continue with cautious curiosity as to what he’d say.

“I want to get to know you better I guess? You were always so helpful and kind, but stood your ground when you needed to. Honestly, I should’ve realised you were a royal with how you interacted with others, heh…”

He had seemingly found his stride, the words continuing to come out the way he had thought them so many times before.

“And I just didn’t want you to hold regret for what you did. I may have been angry, but you were hurting just as much as me. It may have taken me a while to accept it all, but when I did, I could only wonder how you were feeling; if you had had any sort of closure or acceptance…”

The boys finally faced each other, tears welling up in their eyes as Klonoa continued.

“I guess there was a reason I was brought back to Phantomile… I’m just sorry that I didn’t speak to you about this sooner…”

Huepow didn’t know what to say or what to think… but he just cried. It was his only response to everything, and he only continued as Klonoa gave him a soft embrace.

“It’ll take a lot of time; trust me, I know what it’s like. But i-if you want me to, I w-w-will be there to help; I w-want to be there t-to help you!” His own emotions then took over, and they just sat there hugging each other desperately.

“I don’t want you to feel lonely anymore…” The Dream Traveller tightened the embrace, silent tears continuing to fall.

They had sat there for only a few minutes, but to them it was worth all the months that had passed them by. All the time they spent feeling sorry for themselves, not truly accepting the tragedy of the situation…

…And a sign of the time they wished to spend with each other.

They finally had a chance to move on.

After a few more minutes they separated; tears damp and staining their reddened cheeks as they let their emotions calm.

“…You d-do know you still have a right to be mad at me, right?” The spirit questioned. The cabbit just laughed breathily in response.

“Yeah, I know, but what’s the point in that? Of course I’m still a little hurt by everything, but holding on to the negative emotions would only make me feel worse, y’know?”

“You don’t have to hold them back if they resurface, okay? F-friendship is kind of a two-way street, right?” The cabbit looked over to the spirit with a soft smile.

“Churapa Huepow.”

Silence had made its home between the two of them now, but it was different this time. It was comforting and calm, neither party feeling unease at the other’s presence.

“’It’ll take a lot of time’, huh?” Huepow quoted calmly, still taking in his emotions and the consequences of the conversation. Klonoa sighed with a smile.

“Yep, even after my journey through Lunatea, I just couldn’t stop thinking about you. My feelings were validated, but that didn’t mean I was finished with everything.” He looked up to the flock of Flolos still twirling around in the sky, unknowing of the emotions on display at that moment.

“Right here, right now, I wanna start fresh.” Klonoa turned his head to the prince and smiled genuinely. “How does that sound?”

“…I’d love to.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorrow had returned to the cavern, and the rest of the group were unsure of what was happening.

“Are they alright Sorrow?” Lolo asked in concern.

“We can only hope for the best. It’s up to them how things work out in the end.” Was his only response to the others, as he sat back down in relative silence, holding a strained expression.

“What’s that supposed ta’ mean?” Popka whispered to Lolo, and she gave a conflicted expression as she responded.

“We just have to wait for them to come back, I guess.” She clasped her hands in prayer. “Goddess Claire, though they are from a distant world, may you guide our friends to resolving this situation.”

“Aw, I hope everything is ok-nya…” Tat chimed in, slowly floating down onto the picnic blanket in defeat. Leorina gave her a pat on the head to soothe her mind.

“Well, once they come back, we can sort out where they’ll be living for the time being; can’t have them sleeping outside after all.” The cat perked up at Leorina’s attempt at being light-hearted, and the rest of the group began some idle chat to pass the time.

Sorrow watched them intently, mind still reeling from the events and heart still weighing heavy. Even after the king left them, he continued to feel the presence of the boys’ emotions. He didn’t know what they were talking about, but he could feel the spikes and pitfalls of it all. He just hoped that he had made the right choice…

Eventually though, after a strong bout of sadness had begun to settle in his stomach, an overwhelming emotion spread throughout his whole body, surprising him as his heart warmed and he felt this soft emotion overtake him.

After a moment, this made him smile, which the more observant of the group took notice of.

“Is everything ok, your Majesty?” Leorina asked, a whisper of hope towards his softening expression. The others turned to him with their own hope bubbling within them, and this made Sorrow’s smile just a little bit wider.

“I believe so.”

He could feel them making their way back up to the cavern, and after a minute he turned to the entrance just before the two boys came walking back hand in hand. The others were initially hesitant to ask anything until Huepow spoke up.

“I’m sorry if I made you all worry, I, uh…”

Klonoa clasped his friend’s hand in support, causing the spirit to return the action in kind.

“We just… had a lot to talk about.” Klonoa finished, fidgeting with his hands as they both sat back down.

Leorina and Tat turned to each other and Lolo looked on unsure, as Popka decided to speak up.

“So, are you guys alright now?” Both boys thought about it for a moment.

“I mean; I think it’s more like the start of things being alright.” Huepow nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, it’ll just take a bit of time, but we’ll get there.” Klonoa smiled at the response, with the spirit reciprocating with a shy demeanour. After a moment, Lolo finally spoke up, voice chipper as her prayers seemed to be answered.

“Well, Leo mentioned earlier that we should find you two a place to stay while you’re here.”

“Huh, I guess you’re right! We’re not exactly sure how long we’ll be here anyway…”

It was then that they began getting ready to leave; everyone chipping in by cleaning up the picnic basket or folding up the blanket. They all filed out of the cavern, tired but content as the sun’s light slowly began peaking over the horizon.

Everyone was quiet as they all made their respective journeys back to their homes, with the Phantomilian duo staying with Lolo and Popka on their trek back to Lalakoosha.

“There’s so much that you haven’t seen yet! Maybe we could visit Joilant tomorrow and we can show you all the cool attractions in the park!” Klonoa thought aloud to his spirit companion, who just continued to smile in anticipation.

“That sounds exciting; really, I can’t wait to explore everywher-” The prince yawned and rubbed his eyes a bit as he began to falter in his movements.

“I got ya’.” The cabbit reached his hand out to catch his friend, seeming almost weightless as he softly landed with a grunt.

Lolo looked back to the two boys and giggled at the sight as they continued down the dirt path. “I hope you enjoy your time here Huepow, but something tells me we all need a little rest first.”

Huepow hummed in agreement, attempting to float again even as he was barely conscious.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay; I can carry you if you’re tired.” Klonoa spoke with humour in his voice.

The spirit couldn’t resist the thought, and without any sort of retort, he settled back into the Dream Traveller’s arms. “Thanks…” He sleepily mumbled in response.

The boy could only smile at the sight, a mix of emotions causing his heart to race a little.

He had hoped that their time in Lunatea would be a chance to show the prince what lay beyond Phantomile; show what being a Dream Traveller was really like. All the experiences that made him who he is today.

It was probably his fault for not noticing how Huepow truly felt, but he wasn’t going to let that happen again. He wasn’t sure how long it would take, but he was going to be there for his friend as much as he wanted him to be.

“Klonoa?”

“Wahee?” He shook himself out of his daze, looking up to find the Lalakooshen’s concerned expression and the Joilanten’s curious gaze. “Oh, baramyuu Lolo! I just got lost in thought there, heh…” 

She turned back around after a moment, quiet in contemplation.

“Is Huepow ok?” The question surprised Klonoa, and he looked back down to the spirit sleeping soundly in his arms.

“We’ll all make sure he feels better; he deserves it after all…” A resolute smile formed on the cabbit’s face as he picked up his speed to walk alongside his Lunatean friends.

“Come on now, we got a busy day tomorrow! Rupurudu!”

Maybe things didn’t turn out just as the Dream traveller thought they would, but he was right about one thing at least… 

... All that had happened turned out to be good in the end…


End file.
